The Oscar-winning movie Jared Leto reportedly tried to destroy out of spite
What happened to Jared Leto? One day, he was a beloved star who successfully straddled acting and music. Next, he was a toxic a-hole who became a byword for Hollywood ego and self-indulgence.
It feels like the wheels really started to come off around the time of 2016’s Suicide Squad. Leto was part of an all-star in one of DC’s earliest attempts to catch up with Marvel, and he was given one of the plumpest gigs in all of comic book media – the Joker. As the ‘Clown Prince of Crime’, Leto would be following in the footsteps of César Romero, Jack Nicholson, and the great Heath Ledger. Did his performance live up to those lofty standards? Well…
Almost everything connected to Leto’s run as the Joker was a total disaster. The film was dogged by reshoots, which messed around with the character’s relationship with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.
According to the actor, large chunks of footage featuring him were left out of the final cut, reducing his overall screen time to about ten minutes. The film was never marketed as Joker-centric, but fans certainly felt like they’d be misled over his involvement. Then there were the ‘gifts’ he sent his castmates in an attempt to get into character; one of many examples of Leto taking ‘method acting’ way too far.
For all these reasons and more, this was Leto’s only outing as Mister J. The character was always going to make a comeback, though; he was just too popular. Nobody could have predicted what would happen next, though. Three years later, Joaquin Phoenix took over the role for Todd Phillips’ Joker. As divisive as the film was, it breathed new life into the villainous jester and the superhero genre as a whole. Phoenix was rewarded with a ‘Best Actor’ Oscar for his efforts, which must have made Leto furious.
In fact, the Tron: Ares star was irate with the entire project. According to a piece in The Hollywood Reporter, Leto attempted to use his leverage with Warner Bros to get the studio to pull the plug on Phillips’ film. He allegedly asserted that he’d been promised a solo movie and that he hadn’t been “treated properly” as an Oscar winner. He was also worried that the new actor would overshadow him, according to a close source.
“How do you play the Joker you established following [Phoenix]?” they pondered. “It kind of ends his Joker run.”
As we now know, Leto didn’t get Joker cancelled. He had apparently burned through so many agents at this point that nobody was willing to help him fight his cause. The Phoenix movie was released to a thunderous reception, and the Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman’s time in the pale make-up was completely swept under the rug.
Despite his best efforts, Leto was unable to prevent the torch from being passed to the next Joker. Now, with Barry Keoghan supposedly lined up to play the character in the long-gestating sequel to The Batman, he finds himself way behind the times. A number of other old DC actors have reprised their roles recently – see Michael Keaton and George Clooney as Batman – but something tells me Leto won’t be buying any green hair dye any time soon.
